Employers that limit candidate searches to the internet could be making an expensive mistake, according to David Mains, director of IT recruiter Enigma People Solutions.

Mains says that the explosive growth in the popularity of sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter has “dazzled” the business world.

“Over the past five years, the growth in popularity of online networking has been staggering. The business world has been dazzled by these growth numbers and gone crazy for social networking without taking the time to really understand it.

“Given the hype surrounding the subject, you could be forgiven for thinking that social networking sites might offer a cost-effective way to find new employees – but you’d be wrong.

“The social networking revolution is a relatively new phenomenon and is still very open to abuse. Taken at face value, there’s virtually no way to know whether the information posted in a candidate’s online profile is true or not. This information requires validation – and this, in turn, requires the help of a professional recruitment consultant.”